2 Samuel 17:2

2Sa 17:2 And I will come upon him while he [is] weary and weak handed, and will make him afraid: and all the people that [are] with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only:

Ver. 2. And I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed.] That indeed had been the ready way to win. Hannibal when he could have taken Rome, would not; when he would, could not. {a} The Protestant princes of Germany lost a fair opportunity at Ingolstadt, August 13, 1546, which they never afterwards could recover. They were far stronger in horse than the emperor, whose forces were but slenderly fortified at that time, and might easily have been worsted; but the next night they so entrenched themselves, that they took better heart, and soon after got the day. This error of the Protestant princes - the elector of Saxony, the landgrave of Hesse, and the rest - was, saith mine author, {b} the rise and cause of their calamity, but of Caesar’s victory, to the grief of all good people.

{a} Plut.

{b} Alsted., Chronol. 545.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Sa 17:2-3. I will come upon him while he is weary — Before he has had time to breathe from the fatigues he has just gone through; and weak- handed — Before he has collected more forces. I will make him afraid — Strike a terror into him by this sudden attack, made in the night, when he is ill-provided. I will smite the king only — And proclaim pardon to all the rest. And I will bring back all the people — By this means I shall easily bring over their allegiance to thee. The man whom thou seekest is as if they all returned — The killing of David will effectually end the contest, and the whole nation will come in to thee, there being no other to whom they will submit, he being dead. So all the people shall be in peace — The single circumstance of taking and killing him will restore peace, and preserve both the people who are with thee, and those that are with David. They shall all be saved, and he alone destroyed. “The attentive reader will easily perceive that this advice well justifies the character given of Ahithophel in the Scripture; it was, in its several parts, admirably fitted both to the inclinations and interests of his pupil; he consigned him to his pleasures, and took all the danger to himself; and at the same time he relieved his little remains of humanity (if he had any) from the necessity of imbruing his hands in his father’s blood. His incest was, for the present, personal guilt enough; that act of outrage would make Abslom’s reconciliation with his father desperate; and while he indulged his evil appetite, Ahithophel, with a chosen band, would pursue and surprise David. Nothing could be more worldly wise, or more hellishly wicked; it was indeed, as the advice of an oracle, but very different from that dictated by the Spirit of God; and yet, horrid as it was, it pleased that vile son and his associates.” — Delaney.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(2) Will make him afraid.—This translation is hardly strong enough. The thought is that Ahithophel will throw his band into a panic by a sudden night attack, and in the confusion will easily secure the person of the king.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. will make him afraid] The word describes the panic caused by a sudden night attack, in the confusion of which David might easily be seized.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And I will come upon him while he is weary,.... With travelling, and with grief, and when endeavouring to get some rest by sleep, and so surprise him unawares, when not on his guard, and in no posture of defence:

and weak handed; while the number of men with him is small, and before the people from different parts can come to his assistance:

and will make him afraid; strike terror into him and his then, by surprising them suddenly in the night with such a number of men:

and all the people that are with him shall flee; one one way, and another another, for their own security, and leave David alone:

and I will smite the king only; dispatch him, and let the people flee without pursuing them.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Handed. He has not had time to collect forces. --- Alone. Hebrew also, "the king also;" so that the people will be saved by flight. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Weary and weak-handed; tired with a tedious march on foot, and destitute of men and military provisions; and disheartened by his own small numbers, and by the general defection of his subjects.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And I will, &c. - That such a wretch as Absalom should aim at his father's throat is not strange. But that the body of the people, to whom David had been so great a blessing, should join with him in it, is amazing. But the finger of God was in it. Let not the best of parents, or the best of princes think it strange, if they are injured by those who should be their support and joy, when they (like David) have provoked God to turn against them.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.